First I got a general feel for where I wanted everything to go, and penciled in a light outline of the volcano and city in the background. I started adding detail, beginning from the top of the page, and making my way toward the bottom. Since the smoke from the volcano was at the top, I started with that.
I added color to the sky and sun; making the sky a dark blue, which blended into purple at the horizon for the sunset.
I picked out the colors for the volcano, the city walls, and the city tower; then, using those colors, made a more solid outline. I also added in the lava.
Here's a zoom in on the lava and the pencils I used to draw it.
Then I began working on the city. First I penciled in the gate, streets, and buildings.
Next, I used colored pencils to darken the lines.
After that, I colored in the grass and streets.
Finally, I added color to the buildings, walls, and everything that remained.
I then began the time-consuming task of filling in the land and sea. I used one color for the land (dark green), and two colors for the sea: the same blue I used for the sky, and the same green I used for the land.
At last, it was done! The entire drawing, by the way, was done with about eight different colored pencils. It really doesn't take too many pencils to make a lot of colors, if you blend them together.
Does anyone else like to illustrate their stories? What methods and mediums do you like to use?
